William Baker
| type = | race = | gender = | base of operations = New York City, New York New Jersey | known relatives = Unidentified wife (divorced) | status = | born = | died = | 1st appearance = ''Amazing Spider-Man'', Vol.1 #4 | actor = }} The Sandman is a fictional super-powered villain featured in comic books published by Marvel Comics. His real name is William Baker, but he has also gone by the alias Flint Marko. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko and first appeared in ''Amazing Spider-Man'', Volume 1 #4, cover-dated September, 1963. The character has frequently been shown as an adversary of Spider-Man as well as the Fantastic Four. He was a member of the supervillain team the Frightful Four as well as the Sinister Six. For a brief period, he was reformed and became a member of Silver Sable's Wild Pack. Biography Origin William Baker grew up to become a career criminal calling himself Flint Marko. While serving a stretch at an island prison, he found a drainage tunnel that was unguarded, and was able to squeeze through it swim to the mainland. Marko rose to the top of the F.B.I.'s most wanted list, but always managed to stay one step ahead of the law. A police dragnet began boxing him in, so Marko fled to an atomic devices testing center. He felt secure on this beachhead, believing that no one would come there to seek him out. He was present on the day a nuclear test was conducted, and Marko was caught in the wake of the explosion. The beach sand in the surrounding area was bathed in radioactive particles and Marko's body merged with the sand, granting him the ability to convert the molecules of his own form into silicon particles. With this newfound ability, Marko had the power to rise to even greater heights of villainy, and he became the Sandman! Amazing Spider-Man 4 Notes & Trivia * * The Sandman's mother lives in New Jersey. Marvel Team-Up 1 Presumably, William Baker grew up in New Jersey before relocating to New York City. He seems like a Jersey boy. * The Sandman actually took some science courses so he could ideally construct the battle-suit that he wore during the 1970s. However, most characterizations of him would imply that he is of very low intellect. Powers * Body conversion: The Sandman has the ability to transform his entire body into silicon particles, which he can manipulate to form a wide variety of shapes. He could also use this power to enlarge his own mass and project columns at sand at opponents or erect barricades of sand. * Density control: The Sandman can increase or decrease the mass and density of his body allowing him to perform various feats of super-strength. Getting punched by one of the Sandman's fists is not like getting slugged by a regular joe. If he maximizes the density of his sand-fist, he could pound you into dip. * Reformation: The Sandman has learned how to reconstitute the molecules of his body to re-assume his normal human shape. This trick becomes quites necessary in instances when the particles of his silicon body become separated or if they are mixed with another substance such as water. Equipment * Battle-suit: For a period of time, the Sandman wore a specially-constructed battle-suit of his own design, which injected different chemical mixtures into his sand (like oil or poison gas) for a variety of effects. Fantastic Four 61 Other versions * Sandman, A supervillain featured in the 2007 film Spider-Man 3. * Sandman, A supervillain featured in the Ultimate Universe. * Sandman, A supervillain featured in the 1967 Spider-Man animated series. * Sandman, a supervillain featured in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends animated series. * Sandman, a supervillain featured in the Spectacular Spider-Man'' animated series. See also External Links * Sandman at MDP * Sandman at Wikipedia * * * * * Sandman at Hasbro Heroes Wiki * Sandman at the Marvel Movies Wiki Gallery Flint Marko 001.jpg Flint Marko 002.jpg Flint Marko 003.jpg Flint Marko 004.jpg Appearances * Amazing Spider-Man 4 * Amazing Spider-Man 24 - As an illusion only. * Fantastic Four 45 * Fantastic Four 61 * Fantastic Four 300 - With Frightful Four. * Nova 13 - Versus Richard Rider. * Strange Tales 115 - Versus Human Torch. References ---- Category:Comic book characters Category:Nova/Villains Category:Criminals Category:Frightful Four/Members Category:Sinister Twelve/Members Category:Wild Pack/Members